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Scientific method

The scientific method is a general approach to problems that involves making observations, seeking patterns in the observations, formulating hypotheses to explain the observations, and testing these hypotheses by further experiments.

Scientific methods in Chemistry

Chemistry is an experimental science. The idea of using experiments to understand nature seems like such a natural pattern of thought to us now, but there was a time, before the seventeenth century, when experiments were rarely used. The ancient Greeks, for example, did not rely on experiments to test their ideas.

What is the scientific method?

Although two different scientists rarely approach the same problem in exactly the same way, there are guidelines for the practice of science that have come to be known as the scientific method. These guidelines or steps of scientific method start with collecting information on, or data, by observation and experiment. However, the collection of information is not the ultimate goal. The goal is to find a pattern or sense of order in our observations and to understand the origin of this order.

As we perform our experiments, we may begin to see patterns that lead us to a tentative explanation or hypothesis that guides us in planning further experiments. Eventually, we may be able to tie together a great number of observations in terms of a single statement or equation called a scientific law.

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